Since her first day of school in California, Luke Jacobson had always been by Cassie's side.
Until she wasn't by his.
*not fanfiction; extended description in first chapter*
❝ all I know since yesterday is everything has changed ❞
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I picked up a leaf and ran my fingers over the rough surface of it, feeling the stem under my fingertips. My hair fanned out around my head on the blanket, and if I reached out to my left, I would find Luke. Randomly after school, Luke asked me if I wanted to head back to his house and we could just hang out in his backyard.
I accepted, of course.
Luke sat with his back against the tree, his legs stretched out in front of him. I looked up at his face, and he tapped his leg, motioning for me to scoot over. I did as he said, moving until my head rested back on his jean covered legs.
It was nice to just relax with him. When I closed my eyes, I could hear the rustle of the trees as the moved in the wind, the distant sounds of the farm animals in the field.
Opening my eyes again, I looked over at Luke, who's eyes were still closed. I seemed to find myself staring at Luke more and more often. Well, staring or admiring, I wasn't sure which one anymore.
The freckles that dotted the bridge of his nose and spread out over his cheeks, his unruly curly hair that never stays styled. His green eyes, now covered by his eyelids, eyes that always glowed with excitement. His fingers that were currently playing with the tips of my hair. Everything about him made me tingle with this new sense of happiness.
The only time I had felt anything like this was two years ago when I was in the same class as Ben Reyes. My friends had told me it was a crush, but the days I spent oogling Ben seemed like nothing in comparison to the way I felt about Luke.
I look away before he can open my eyes, instead my gaze falling back to the leaf that's between my fingers. I fold it up, twisting the stem around as it begins to crumble in my hands.
Suddenly, I feel Luke begin to shift under me. My eyes move to see what he is doing, and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What's in your bag?"
He doesn't answer me, fumbling around for a few minutes before pulling out a book. My eyes snap to the cover; The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.
"Why do you have that?" I asked.
"'Cause," he said, "my brother told me that the way to a girl's heart is books, and this is my sister's favorite book."
I paused and thought about it for a minute. "Well, what's it about?"
He shrugged, thumbing through some of the pages. "I'm not really sure, I haven't read any of it."
"Well, if neither of us know what it's about, then just flip to a random page and start reading."
"What page?"
"Uhm... 66. 'Cause your lucky number is six, and mine is two, and 66 is two sixes."
Luke laughed. "Okay, whatever you say."
I heard the sound of pages flipping as he opened the story to page 66. He cleared his throat and began to read.
"But at that moment she still wasn't completely aware of it, and she turned to face him. She reached over and touched his hand, hesitantly, gently, amazed that after all these years he'd somehow known exactly what she'd needed to hear. When their eyes locked, she once again realized how special he was. And for just a fleeting moment, a tiny wisp of time that hung in the air like fireflies in summer skies, she wondered if she was in love with him again."
Luke kept going, but I was still thinking about what he had just read. I had yet to realize how special Luke really was to me, how much he meant. And along with the girl in the story, I couldn't help but wonder if I was in love with Luke.
